‘8’ dissects marriage equality proposition; appeal could be heading to Supreme Court

Por Antonio Rey | Editor SDUN

The Birch North Park Theatre hosted a sold-out crowd on Monday, Nov. 19, when celebrities and local community leaders joined efforts for a one-night-only staged reading of the play “8,” written by Dustin Lance Black. Local resident and actor Richard Dreyfuss, actor Annette O’Toole, comedian Bruce Vilanch and singer Lance Bass headlined the 20-member cast.

The play chronicles the Ninth Circuit Court’s Proposition 8 trial, which resulted in a ruling for marriage equality. Calling the 2008 voter-approved proposition “unconstitutional,” the decision – currently held up in appeals – allowed same-sex couples the right to marry.

Often hosting events for local theater and film groups, including FilmOut San Diego and San Diego Musical Theatre, the Birch North Park Theatre is currently a part of the Lyric Opera San Diego bankruptcy proceedings. The opera filed Chapter 11 in October 2011, however Councilmember Todd Gloria said staging the show at the theater was a perfect decision.

“The Birch has become the center of North Park,” he said. “That’s why having ‘8’ there, I think, is perfect. … This play’s an important thing, and this issue is obviously important to the community in North Park.”

Dreyfuss, star of the films ‘Mr. Holland’s Opus” and “The Goodbye Girl,” showed appreciation for “8” being staged in San Diego.

“As someone who has been living here a long time, I feel I want to participate in making San Diego the best city in the state,” Dreyfuss said about his involvement. He was a part of a similar production in 2009, when the La Jolla Playhouse staged “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later.” Mayor Jerry Sanders and Gloria where a part of that production as well.

Sanders joined Gloria and Black in a question and answer period after the “8” performance. Gloria was scheduled to read a part in the play, but was replaced by Doug Bilitch due to scheduling conflicts.

Hosted by Nicole Murray Ramirez, the city commissioner called Black a “hero” for equality, honoring the “Milk” and “J. Edgar” writer with the International Jose Julio Sarria Civil Rights Award. Black thanked San Diego for holding the reading, and then outlined the future of the production.

“We want everyone in the country to be informed … so that people know that these were the arguments [and] that this is the evidence” in the appeal, Black said. “It’s so exciting to see how close we are to the U.S. Supreme Court deciding to review this case.”

With an appeal pending at the Supreme Court, Black said they were prepared to continue staging “8” until it was no longer needed, including “one monster production” in Washington, D.C., should the Court hear the case. An announcement on whether the Court will hear the appeal is scheduled for Dec. 3.

If the court decides to not hear the case, the Ninth Circuit Court’s ruling will stand and LGBT couples in California will once again be allowed to marry. If the court decides to hear the case, which is included in appeals striking down the nation’s Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a decision is not expected until mid-year 2013.

“The other option is [they] are going to hear this case, in which case our lawyers David Boies and Ted Olson have already said that they will expand it so that this decision covers all 50 states,” Black said. “It is not by chance that the Supreme Court picked a date to review this and DOMA after the election,” he said, calling Nov. 6 “monumental” for LGBT rights.

“The Supreme Court doesn’t like to be 10 steps ahead of the people, historically. It likes to be about two. It never wants to be behind the arc of history when it comes to civil rights,” he said. “I think they know that [marriage equality] is inevitable.”

The reading also served as a fundraiser for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which is the leading sponsor of Proposition 8’s legal battles.

In preparation for the Nov. 19 reading, Sanders said his participation had a deeper meaning. He testified during the Proposition 8 trial, and his daughter, Lisa Sanders, had a role in the evening’s production. Sanders said he was excited about seeing her on stage.

The mayor also said he felt his stance for marriage equality – Jerry Sanders voiced his official support for equal rights in 2007 and then again this year, serving on the national Mayors For the Freedom to Marry coalition – would be one of the most important, and remembered, aspects of his time in office. His term ends on Dec. 3, when Bob Filner is sworn in as mayor.

“When I came out with my announcement that I was going to support equality, I had a few staff members come up and say that, with everything else we’ve done, that this may be the one thing that stands the test of time,” Sanders said. “I feel very proud of that and I think that, if nothing else, that will have a lasting impression.”

For Sanders, the realization of marriage equality is also “inevitable,” he said. “I just think it’s a matter of time. I know it’s hard for a lot of folks to be patient, but … this has been the work of a lot of people over a long time.”

Production & Celebrity Entertainment produced the staging. In addition to Dreyfuss, O’Toole, Vilanch, Bass, Bilitch and Lisa Sanders, the reading starred Jim Chovic, Steven Gunderson, Shana Wride, Ryan Rottman, Dylan Mulvaney, Zach Bunshaft, Fred Harlow, Melinda Gilb, Heather Ankeny, Katie Wilson, Jim Chatham, Andres Torres, Matthew Bellows, Ed Hollingsworth and Jon Jon Briones. Directed by Brian Wells, the production was sponsored in part by Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, Merrill Lynch and the Imperial Court de San Diego.